Not A Mermaid
by CandyAndYaoi
Summary: "No I do not wear a fucking shell bra like in the movies." Sasuke answered, fin flicking in disapproval as he glared at the stupid blonde. How did he even end up in his bathtub? "You're a mermaid." Naruto said, grinning. "Merman." Sasuke corrected. "So...Why do you have a bag of blue sea glass? Why's it important?" Naruto finally asked. He replied "...They look like your eyes."
1. Chapter 1: Sea Glass

A/N: I have creative juices flowing. that is the only excuse I have for writing so much. I don't regret anything. Please leave a review, cause I love hearing about what you guys thought, your impressions, even your excite-filled rants. This is actually inspired by the REAL version of The little mermaid, But in this case, it would be the little Merman. besides I wanna have some fun in this fanfic, everything i've written is usually so serious.

I'm only testing the waters to the idea. Well...here goes nothing.

* * *

"The hell Kakashi? Don't you fucking think I'm going wear seashell nipple covers."

Narrow dark eyes glared at Kakashi, and at the abomination in his hands. A Seashell top typically associated with mermaids, by humans. Mermaids usually don't wear anything to cover the soft mounds on their chest called breasts.

He was not a mermaid, he was a goddamn Mer MAN. A MAN. He was not a maid nor a maiden.

And Sasuke Uchiha does not sing. Singing and him do not go together. Ever.

Especially if Kakashi, his teacher was enforcing the idea to follow 'trends' in the human world since Kakashi had an odd fascination with humans.

"But it's a nice blue color, and it's a bikini to let you know" Kakashi corrected, only smiling casually as if this was normal. The unfortunate fact was; this was the norm for Sasuke and Kakashi.  
Sasuke was beginning regret declining his brother's offer to travel to colder, secluded waters.

He would have kicked himself if he had legs.

"...It's not even that fancy, they're only the size of a quarter...It'll only cover your nippl-"

"That's even worse!" Sasuke snapped, his tail flicking in displeasure, glistening from the sunlight that passed through the seawater. It was a pretty scene really, dark blue water surrounding them, veils of pure light fluttering down upon them and the colorful coral and sea life. To a Human, it would have looked magical if they weren't drowning by lack of water.

Kakashi only rolled his eyes "Fine, would you prefer the lacy pink ones? I was saving them for myself bu-" Kakashi never finished his sentence because Sasuke began to try grabbing the precious bikini out of his hands.

"Where did you even come up with that?!" Snapped Sasuke, diving to grab for the nipple bra to throw them away. Only to miss. Sasuke bared his teeth angrily while Kakshi attempted to calm him.

"W-Well...I turned my fin to legs and was walking down the seashore, and so many girls were wearing Bikinis, and I thought they looked nice, and that's why I made these!" He lifted the poor-excuse for a top to emphasize his creation, simply smiling with his mostly covered face after dodging Sasuke's attempt.

"Why did you even switch your fins for legs? You don't like humans or merfolks, you do this every week, but you don't like humans, so why?" Sasuke crossed his arms, the sun irritating the most since he lived around the deeper parts of the ocean. He liked the darkness, the sun wasn't such a bitch to his skin.

He just wanted to point the hypocrisy in Kakashi's words.

"Yes but I enjoy their curves, and I don't think fondly of all humans, but just like everything, there are exceptions." Kakashi said, placing the bra away in a bag he had bought during his time on land.

Sasuke's eyebrow raised itself, his chin slightly tilted downwards. "Such as...?" his expression and body posture asked, his mouth slightly frowning and disapproving.  
to walk along humans was taboo in Sasuke's world. But his world was bleak and shallow so there wasn't much that Sasuke did approve of.

"Well...I'm happy to say, I met someone." Kakashi's dark blue tail stroked fluidly in the water, as if the mere memory brought joy.

"..." Sasuke's eyes widened, his jaw slightly dropped, horror painting itself in his face as colour drained.

"I wanted to stretch my legs at first."

Sasuke glared at Kakashi for the intended pun. Kakashi only smiled.

This was a serious matter.

"And it was my first time changing in five years, so I was awkwardly naked and couldn't walk properly on land." Kakshi paused to observe Sasuke's expression. He was disgusted but he seemed compliant to allow Kakashi to continue his story.

"So I was stranded...then this lovely young man with brown hair, brown eyes, and softly tanned skin ran to me with concerned eyes." Soft sighs left Kakashi's lips as if he were in love, which Sasuke prayed he was not.

"He thought I was attacked by some muggers and took me in. Taking care of me... He even told me his name, Iruka."

"So you lied to him." Sasuke deadpanned.

"That's harsh, no I simply stared dazily at his beautiful golden eyes, the horizontal scar on his nose was charming too. He was so gentle and nice to me, taking me to his home and feeding me. He even let me share his bed!" Irritation began to build in Kakashi, he didn't enjoy that Sasuke was belittling his lover and him. As much as Kakashi cared for Sasuke, Iruka was a very special human to Kakashi.

He never told, but he found his ability to transform into human when he was nineteen, a little younger than Sasuke. Kakashi found a charming young teen whom he couldn't help but feel drawn to.  
Iruka was fifteen at the time when they first met.  
What happened was a complete secret. Unfortunately, Kakashi was banned to transforming into a human because of going on land for a human. Merfolk weren't fond of humans, but the society wasn't prejudice, they allowed merfolk to live or visit humans at age twenty, but when Kakakshi returned, Iruka was gone. By sheer luck, Kakashi had found him again a month ago, making sure to never allow Iruka to leave him again, which was why he stole Iruka's underwear to keep.

Besides, Iruka didn't need underwear, Kakashi didn't even know what it was, other than that humans wore different ones everyday.

"Why do I care?" Sasuke began to swim away in spite, infuriated that his guardian was in love with a human. The very thought of it. Vulgar humans and their disgusting bodies. He passed by the tangled coral reefs and sunken boats.

"You're just mean...I want you to wear that to come with me on land, it's about time you take the final step into your adult life." Kakashi stated, knowing well that Sasuke didn't hate humans as much as he claimed. Sasuke did save a human child before.

Despite the attempts to get rid of him with sharp turns Sasuke took, Kakashi was following Sasuke with ease like flowing oil.

"You mean walking among humans and be a porn star like you." Sasuke jerked his head, halting his swimming, for his words came out like acid. Not meaning to hurt, but too late to undo damage once the words spilled out.

Luckily Kakashi wasn't fazed not hurt by his spite filled words.  
"I was simply enjoying what humans offered to me what Mermen could not." Calmly Kakashi explained, placing a shoulder on Sasuke's shoulder. Kakashi was no fool. He had seen the way Sasuke would swim up to the edge of rocks to gaze at humans and remain hidden from their society.

"...You're disgusting." Sasuke pulled his shoulder away from Kakashi's hand, angry that he would think humans were better than merfolk in some way. Merfolk could walkon land and live in water. Humans drown.

"How rude, I merely want a change of scenario. Now are you going to come with me to the surface or not?"

"Hell no. I'm never going to wear that fucking piece of stripper cloth, nor will I stand to walk along with filthy humans! And human girls do not wear those kind of things!" He lied about the first part, he did want to see humans. He wanted to feel the sand on his 'feet', to see what a field looked like, to even see a flower born from freshwater, to smell it, to stroke it's petals. He would wonder what they would feel like. Silky? Velvety? Soft? Slimy?

To climb a tree, stroke the rough hide of bark, to feel nature that fed on clean water and sun. But his pride was far too big to allow such indulgence.

"B-But girls were wea-" Moaned Kakashi, about to persuade Sasuke to wear it.

"Those are for the beach! And for Girls! I'm not a fucking girl!"

"You could have fooled me." Muttered the silver haired man, taking a seat on some sea rock, picking some sea glass to collect for Iruka, the golden shine was attractive, smirking at the attractive piece of topaz blue sea glass, that Sasuke took from the sand.

"Oh look, Iruka."

"Where?!"

Sasuke took this chance to swim at full speed to get away from Kakashi, already sick and tired of hearing his tomfoolery words. Words filled with dreams, empty ones. Sasuke knew that if Iruka found out who Kakashi was, Iruka would no doubt, leave Kakashi and expose him. Humans might look and act kind, but he knew they were only born to lie with their pretty words.

After all, the first and last interaction he had with a human was so long ago; being called beautiful at the time was strange and a painful label. Sasuke hated his own appearance, he was similar to his older brother Itachi, but not as radiant or talented. He was a stone compared to a jewel. Never good enough. He just wanted to forget about that gentle looking boy and his big, blue eyes that were a window of a parallel ocean.

Kakashi simply watched Sasuke swim away, sighing at the stubborn attitude of the young Uchiha.

"You're still thinking about him. The blond boy that called you beautiful." Though Kakashi, hoping Sasuke would accept that he wanted to see the same blonde boy again, especially since Kakashi had met the blond boy, who was more of a man now.

Another reason why he knew Sasuke never forgot the blond boy, was because Kakashi was there when the blonde boy was saved, and saw that his eyes a a piercing turquoise that sent chills down anyone who looked at them.

Ever since that day, Kakashi saw that Sasuke began to collect pieces of blue sea glass, favoring the brighter shades.

Sasuke wasn't fooling Kakashi.

* * *

The ocean breeze always had this calming atmosphere. If you relaxed in the salty air, you'd all of a sudden feel calm, enveloped by the nostalgic feel the ocean offered. As if the ocean had many tales to tell. Like the ocean was a wise spirit.

Which is one of the reasons why Naruto walked by the ocean to soak in the mood the wind gave off, a reason to calm his temper, which was often given his brash attitude and temper.

Another reason was because it shared the bittersweet melancholy feeling. A certain period of time, Naruto grew up with nothing. No parents, no friends, no acknowledgment.

Nothing he could call his own.

Although his past is wasn't the best, he didn't want to forget the pain that made him stronger.

Being near the ocean was nostalgic, because as a kid, he ran to cry in front of the ocean. The ocean comforted him with it's gentle wind a calming waves. In an odd,way, the ocean was his friend.

There was this time when he was a kid, where he dropped his favorite and only plush in the ocean. It was a nine-tailed fox. He swam for it without thinking, but he drowned. The odd thing was, he dreamed of a kid-mermaid-merman thingy saving him.

But when he awoke on the seashore, like any normal person, he cast the idea of a merman saving him. But maybe someone saved him. A person must have, but most definitely not a merman. Surely, they don't exist.

The last thing Naruto remembered was short black hair that was straight, pale skin that resembled white lilies, and a smoothly sculpted face resembling marble.

"Beautiful." Was the last thing he said before falling unconscious. Maybe it was a dream, illusion, or reality. Naruto hoped it was the latter, but it was probably dolphins.

From that day on, Naruto felt oddly attracted to the ocean, wondering everyday if that was a false image he imagined, hoping it wasn't.

But like any other day Naruto sat patiently on the sand, right beside the giant corner of smooth black rocks, with a tiny cave gazing at the ocean, sketching it. It was a pastime Naruto did whenever he wanted to be alone. A sharp wave here, and a gradient blue to mimic the water.

Highlights of turquoise to represent sea foam... Naruto's hand carefully etched an outline of the waves and foam, his other hand raising to scratch his sunshine locks.  
The thing with the ocean, was that it always pulled and pushed from the Moon's power, waves could be thin, gentle, and fluid, while large waves would crash with the aftermath of sea foam. Sea foam made Naruto think of the real story of The Little Mermaid.

The real one. How she couldn't kill the man she loved and chose to die instead. Naruto just wished there was a way to remember her by, like one of those creation myths. It made Naruto sad to think that her life ended that way, how she could have found someone else, but then again, love doesn't work like that it never does. Naruto's lips pulled up to smile a bit.

Maybe he could draw a storybook of her, and somehow write an ending where she finds another man. But then again, maybe not, the original wouldn't change. A classic is a class-

There was a giant splash that suddenly broke Naruto out of his calm trance. His eyes perked up like a dogs as he flinched from the shock, he set aside his messy sketch on top of his black bag so it wouldn't get ruined by the sand. He uncrossed his legs to stand up, brushing off the scratchy sand that clung to his clothes like glue. Navy eyes scanned the general area where it came from. By the rocks_._

_Was it just a wave?_ Naruto wondered, but soon deciding it wasn't, because wave crashes are low, this time it was sudden, quick, and sharply loud like someone had cannon balled in the water, but it was restricted to cannon dive in the rockier parts. The thought of some idiot jumping into rocky, shallow waters got Naruto worried. What if it was a kid? What if the kids gets hurt and drowns or worse; dies.

Or worse yet, what if a couple of kids were drowning a puppy?

With the possibilities in his head, Naruto sprinted to the rocks, reviewing the lifeguard lessons he took in case he were to run into a drowning person.

"If there is no pulse, no signs of chest movement for breathing, tilt the head back slightly and give two breaths and do 30 chest compression, arms straight, body pushing weight down along the nipple line of the chest."

Naruto crawled carefully along the rocky landscape. Careful not to cut himself by the sharp, broken rocks, going closer and closer to the shore of water. The greasy mud made it slippery top get a good grip, but Naruto was determined.

_If they vomit, put them in proper position of one straight arm down and one straight arm up to roll them on side so they do not choke on their vomit. Then call the a-_

His thoughts were interrupted and eased by the sound of a angry voice. At least no one was in danger, but what was the splashing noise?

"The fuck was he thinking...Walking with humans. Disgusting land dwellers, the filthiest..."

Naruto inched closer, careful not to make a loud noise, he wasn't quite sure why he remained silent. Perhaps he was curious why someone was sitting along the rocky edges of the beach. Maybe someone was lonely, he'd thought he could cheer them up with his company.

Another splash whipped against the ocean water, maybe the guy was dipping his feet at the edge to kick his frustrations.

"Hey, are you o-" Naruto's mouth went slack when he say a bright gleam of violet-colored scales. Which was odd, because There was never usually any fish during this time of day, especially purple ones. What was even more peculiar, was to see a large fishtail attached to a human torso. It seemed Naruto had come cross the rare mermai-

Technically merman since there were no boobs.

"What the fuck?!" Naruto exclaimed, not thinking before he yelled out his thoughts. The man's expression had changed from somewhat annoyed, to alarme. Staring at naruto as if he wasn't sure this was real, but fear was drowning in the dark eyes.

Scribbled charcoal eyes locked on to neon blue that glowed like jellyfish at the bottom of the ocean. Naruto couldn't help but take the moment to admire the dark eyes that seemed to be a window of unspoken secrets. The violet finned man seemed to be fascinated with Naruto's eyes, with how intense his stare bled deep into Naruto.

A second passed.

Then another.

And finally a third.

Until they broke their gaze reluctantly. Naruto began to realize what the situation was, and the dark haired man, began to turn to naruto with a different expression.

The pale beauty glared harshly at Naruto, freezing Naruto in place, he wasn't sure what he did wrong to the merman. Merman. The fact was still sinking in, but surprisingly he wasn't shocked nor baffled. He was actually pretty excited.

A mythical creature had been found by him, he wanted to ask so many questions, but before he could even ask, the merman dove back into the clear ocean, slipping away from Naruto.

"Wai-" By instinct or panic, Naruto had stupidly began to run on slippery rock and tripped. Scrapping his palm and inner elbow, staining the grayish rocks with his fresh, crimson blood.

He looked stupidly at his hands, blood streamed down the ugly patches of raw skin.

"Shit." He swore. Out of frustration for losing the merman before they could have become friends, and because of his deep bleeding that tore at him. He couldn't expect anyone to believe his story, so with a deep breath and heavy sigh, he let go the regret of losing the merman.

He knew he'd come back since he left a small bag filled with richly colored sea glass. Don't ask why, he just knew, call it instinct.

For now, he would head home. It had been a long day for him.

* * *

"Kakashi..." Sasuke approached his guardian with an avoiding glare.

"Yes?~" Kakashi replied, his voice in a sing-song tone. He smiled at Sasuke, already guessing what Sasuke was here for.

"...I'll go to the land of humans." The stubborn Uchiha surrendered grudingly.

He had found the blue he was looking for.


	2. Chapter 2: Bonding

"Sasuke, are you even paying attention?" Earthy green eyes dimmed in frustration.

Blinking slowly, the wave of water pressed on his face, calling him back from his daze.

Being at the bottom of the ocean usually kept Sasuke alert, the dark and cold temperatures were comforting when he wanted to contemplate his thoughts just so he could arrange them neatly.

It seemed today Sasuke wasn't in the mood to do such pondering; especially with his girlfriend Sakura.

That could have been it, bringing someone with him usually required to converse–which Sasuke wasn't against.

In fact, Sasuke found interacting with Sakura satisfying enough. She'd be able to keep up with complex topics while offering her own viewpoint without hesitation. But the way she stroked his arm and created shapes with her fingertips on his chest made him rather uncomfortable. It wasn't because she was physically displeasing.

Then again, Sakura started off as such when they met as small children, but ever since she studied under the famous Sea Witch Tsunade, she had noticeably matured and her intelligence had seemingly improved as well– much to his delight, but he'd never been attracted to her romantically or even platonically. Unfortunately, she had trouble keeping her strength around him, which he hated because she always went back to her old pretentious self when he responded positively or even neutrally.

He especially disliked it when she would try to be intimate by brushing part of his bangs to his ear, leaning on him, and kissing him; it bothered him in a slow burn, just building up slowly which each step; her cold fingers were thin and almost grating. He resisted the urge to sneer at her action.

Admittedly, he only went out with her because she asked, and that he was approaching the age of seeking someone to potentially settle down with and marry; it was smarter to start soon since he inherited his family's noble status at a very young age. Although now, he wasn't quite sure why he chose her of all people now that he thought about it properly.

Nodding, Sasuke pushed himself off the sunken ship. Call it morbid, but the rust that built around the ship always made Sasuke feel serene with the dark shadows with soft beams of light from the surface. Plus, the sea creatures that inhibited the dark were always peaceful and secluded.

Following while mildly insulted, Sakura swam ahead in front of Sasuke with the intention to pause his sulky exit.

With intense eyes and a frown, she crossed her arms. "Sasuke, you can't just doze off then swim away, it makes me worry." Her arms loosened before dropping to her side, her eyes softened and she looked rather anxious "Is something on your mind? You never daydream like that, it's..." She sucked her lip for a moment "Unusual. I heard about your encounter with a human from Kakashi... The human, he didn't hurt you did h-"

"No, he didn't. I'm fine, the idiot was too wrapped up staring at me." He replied before he swam around her to continue his trail up the sea shore.

"So you say." She hurried to swim by his side "You know you can tell me anything that's bothering you. No matter what it is, you can trust me." Her voice was clear and smooth, despite her knotted expression of worry.

Sasuke knew he should have said he knew, but it'd be a blatant lie by implying he trusted her. It was one thing to get along with someone, but trust was something different. Sakura was a good person, but with every good there's a bad, and when it came to him, Sakura sometimes came off as desperate and shallow.

Sasuke wasn't a fool to ignore the fact her 'love' for him was selfish, which was why it would be soon that he'd break things off with her for both of their sake to grow.

But who was he to say such things when he himself was a hypocrite. Sakura was an amazing woman, he wasn't so arrogant to ignore that, but when she's around him, her potential and strength she developed slips away into her shadow, forcing her to square one.

For a while now, Sasuke had debated if he wanted to break things off for both of their sakes, but he was unsure where to begin.

Eventually they reached the shallow waters where they'd depart as daylight was dying. It'd be dangerous if they stayed out in the dark for too long where the nightly predators awaken to hunt blind prey, thankfully that never happened too often, but it still brought apprehension to both of them.

But as he watched Sakura turn and leave, he couldn't help but stare at the surface of the water moving with the tide, trying to think of the sky and its soft blue colour, wondering if the shade changed throughout the day, and he wondered where the human with clear blue eyes was up to where the people are. Maybe he'd find the boy again, if he was still there.

The echoing call of a whale snapped him out of his thoughts before he headed to his home.

* * *

"I'm telling you Iruka it was a merman!" Naruto insisted as he struggled with closing the door of the car as his hands were carrying groceries.

Locking the car with his remote keys, Iruka walked over to Naruto to close the door for him. "You were tired and your eyes were probably tricked by the reflected light."

Already exhausted from the day's excitement of chasing down a runaway dog, Naruto headed inside the house without much protest as he remembered today was about Iruka, not him. He glanced at his phone once he carefully placed the bag on the counter, "So anyway, when's your date coming over?"

Iruka, being the parent of Naruto replied in a deadpanned manner. "Tonight, I've told you twice." He followed Naruto in and proceeded to lock the door.

"Yeah, but let's just say I'm Dory with bad memory."

"Eight pm."

_That late?_ Naruto thought with mild confusion. "So wait, does that mean he's staying over?" He asked carefully, as he placed the bag in the counter and began to take out the fruits and meats they purchased.

Iruka paused to meet eyes. Slowly, he nodded. "Yes, Naruto. Is there a problem?" Slowly, Iruka took a seat at the dinner table to give himself a break.

Taking a moment to think, Naruto crossed his arms with a sarcastic tone "Well, of course not. Let's invite a stranger and his kid to stay over. Hell, they might be serial killers, out to rip out our organs and paint the streets red." he said with false excitement.

Sighing, Iruka understood it can be difficult to accept that there may be more people in this family that had started off with just the two of them, but Naruto was growing up, and when he leaves–which was soon– he'd be alone without anyone to keep him company.

It's not that Iruka felt obligated to find a person to marry and live with, he only wanted to find someone who offered a cure for the monachopsis.

Moving on required change, for both of them.

"Naruto, I've dated him before." Iruka reasoned before he argued.

There was a moment of pause, Naruto's expression frigid. "What?" He asked lightly, eyebrows furrowed.

Taking a moment for the new information to settle, Iruka gestured for Naruto to take a seat with a tilt of his head. It wasn't the first time Naruto had been shocked with new information. As of right now, Iruka waited for Naruto to calm down as it would've been more of a pain to bicker over this.

"When?" The struggling blonde asked tensely.

"I was fifteen when we met."

Naruto stare softened a bit, a kinder blue was found in his eyes now, which was a good sign. "What happened before?"

Wincing at the hard memory, Iruka swallowed nervously. The ache that pinched at him recalled the abandonment he felt for years since Kakashi had left him without word.

Even if the scenery in Iruka's life had changed continuously during the next six years, those were the cruelest times he ever had.

"Disappeared. I'd like to know the reason, so that's why I plan to ask." Iruka explained, silently requesting Naruto would respect his intentions. Even if they were selfish.

Naruto's first instinct was to say no, but then he realized that Iruka must have had a really close relationship with this man, that he needed this for proper closure. Naruto didn't have the right to say no to that, it would have been too cruel to deny him that. Plus, he wasn't there when Iruka was heartbroken, which brought guilt in him for never asking about it. If Iruka needed this, then so be it.

"I understand, but don't leave me out of what happens..." Naruto replied awkwardly. Despite, this, Iruka seemed to have picked up on Naruto's effort to accepts without complaints. Able to feel relief pull away the worry, Iruka got to his feet with an excited smile.

"Want to help me cook?" His tone teasing, as he knew Naruto had a weakness for cooking, plus he needed the extra help to clean up the house a bit.

"And set something on fire?" Naruto asked with a cheeky grin "Hell yeah."

* * *

The sun was a fierce bitch to the skin and eyes. At least to Sasuke.

"Why the hell are we out in the goddamn sun, Kakashi?"

Kakashi ignored the irritated growl in Sasuke's voice, giving a smile that was a little too happy for their current situation. It was still daytime, but barely. During the day, Merfolk often have a difficult time coping with intense heat and sunlight without preparation since their biology never had to evolve to cope with long periods in the sun. A reason for school to teach them how to prepare for land travel. "Sasuke, it's only been an hour since we've left our ocean. It's not that bad."

"Says the grown man who's been consistently walking among humans just to bang one." Sasuke hissed as his eyes narrowed at the ground he was walking on. Sweat slowly gathered on his temple as heat radiated from every air molecule. Although he was a sweaty mess, the people they passed seemed to be attracted to his face.

Unfazed by the jab, Kakashi chuckled "It's worth everything." Carefully, he checked his wristwatch. 7:55 pm. They were on time.

"You're naïve to actually believe that." Dark eyes glared down disapprovingly.

"Once you fall in love, you'll feel the same way."

Pursing his lips to avoid smiling at the thought of that. "Doubt it. I'm dating Sakura, remember?

Crossing the road while the drivers screamed at Kakashi for not following traffic laws, Kakashi waved at them "Of course, how could I forget?"

"You and Sakura make too big of a deal of it. We're just in a relationship."

Finally reaching the new street, Kakashi gazed at the soft moon that glowed with ethereal beauty.  
"Feelings are something you have; not something you are."he gently affirmed before he continued to head for the dark blue house on Blatt street. The air was pleasant. Something about the singing crickets and luminous fireflies gave an otherworldly mood. The sky was a thick soupy red. Feeling apprehension gathering at his gut, Kakashi stopped at the front porch "Sasuke, how about you open the door? I realize that since this is your first time on land, we can test how much you remember from your studies."

Apart from being given a chance to show his intellect, Sasuke stared suspiciously at Kakashi before he rapped with his knuckle against thick oak door with a silent threat in his glare. The soft hints of voices emerged as footsteps grew in heaviness. There was a moment of unlocking the door and Sasuke found his limbs tightening as his eyes stared a hole through the lemon coloured hair and water blue eyes that mirrored his thoughts. Sasuke's thoughts became entangled with the stranger he'd come across again.

* * *

Anxiety is like a predator waiting to attack. Watching over a shoulder, breathing on the skin. Just barely touching. Then when a feeling of danger overwhelms someone, anxiety swoops in out of nowhere to choke the air out as the body attempts to fight it, and the muscles in the chest squeeze tightly as everything suddenly intensifies around the panicked person. This would be called an anxiety attack, as Sasuke would recall in his behavior class; he also remembered how he hated the class for its focus on humans.

If memory served correct, Sasuke was feeling anxiety begin to flex a little in his chest as air of intense fear built up.

"You two must be Sasuke and Kakashi." The person broke free of the shock as they suddenly taking on a disguise of an introductory greeting. Sasuke wasn't so gullible to believe the young man before him did not remember him, it would have been rather hard to forget about meeting a different kind of creature.

On one hand, Sasuke was grateful the man had decided to treat their situation as a separate issue, but on the other hand, Sasuke had already felt like a fish out of water, now the fish was dangling over an obliterating fire. Now he just wanted to leave. Except he couldn't. What was going to stop this man from telling the world that merfolk existed? Nothing. And Sasuke had studied enough about Human history to know the history of prejudice, genocide, slavery, and murder to understand if you weren't a specific type of human with certain features, it could easily mean an early death or at least a life of cruelty. Then again, he could easily kill the man before him, but that wouldn't fare well with Kakashi.

Settling on to his least favorite option, Sasuke went along with this act for the sake of his people and Kakashi.

"I believe that we are indeed, Sasuke and Kakashi, you must be Naruto." The adult behind him smoothly interjected, shaking hands with the blonde man with a friendly nature that wasn't too out of place.

Nodding, Naruto shook the hand agreeably, only for his eyes to scan over Kakashi's features, fighting the urge to frown. "The one and only. Iruka has told me all about ya. Come in, come in, I hear it's going to rain tonight."

"Rain?" Sasuke found himself asking, voice sounding a bit tight. Merfolk adapted the ability to immediately return to their fins when doused with water for the sake of easy escape, but that always seemed to be a disadvantage when it came to walking amongst humans.

Blinking stupidly, Naruto gestured for Kakashi to go ahead and find Iruka while he stepped around to get a better view of Sasuke "Weather Network predicts really heavy rainstorms for the next few hours." he carefully told "Of course you both are staying over."

Smirking at such assumptions, Sasuke crossed his arms. "What makes you think we want to stay over?"

Gesturing Iruka embracing Kakashi while Kakashi gently greeted his lover with airy words, Naruto returned with an answer "Them. Probably going to be an all nighter." he joked as he began to lock the door when Sasuke stepped in the house.

This was significantly different. The walls were dressed in pear green, and pictures of memories were commonly found in the shape of a rectangle. The air as well, it wasn't as humid or earthy, it was vaguely sweet with a curve of tartness; normally Sasuke wasn't a huge fan of anything sweet, but the aroma was somehow natural and fresh. It was oddly cozy, if not a bit wondrous.

"Have you lived here long?" Sasuke's eyes focused on the picture of a vaguely familiar boy splashing in the ocean. It must have been a good day in the photo; the child had laughing eyes, holding up a piece of pink sea glass. The sight of the rose coloured glass brought a downcast expression in Sasuke; strangely he'd recently misplaced his collection.

"Grew up here, in the quiet forests and ocean. Though it's pretty boring." answered Naruto, openly eying Sasuke curiously.

Normally he kept good care of his belongings–especially if it was something he liked. Checking his home and the surrounding sand and coral, there were no signs of it. If it weren't for the tears in his carrier, Sasuke would have ended up wasting more of his time in search of it. Now, Sasuke simply wished he'd been more responsible, or at least, wished his collection had been what was lost.

"Suppose you plan to leave the town once you can?"

Over time, he ended up gathering a good hundred pieces or so, just the size of a coin, enough to admire the lovely colour as he would place it right behind the sunlight. Those moments of searching were all wasted. In the gloomy dark waters he grew up in, the beautiful blue he found were what gave him a sliver of colour and change. The sharp reflecting blue hues in Naruto's eyes made it difficult to feel the loss as it seemed like his collection melted into two pairs of gradient blue eyes..

"I was thinking about it, but now..." the blue deepened as it smiled "...Seems like I can't keep quite leave." Naruto began to head up the stairs, gesturing Sasuke to follow with a smile "C'mon, Iruka and Kakashi probably want to have a moment by themselves, plus we have something to talk about... don't we?"

Staring blankly at the stupid smile Naruto flashed at him, Sasuke found himself strangely curious what Naruto wanted from him. Although it seemed Naruto had pure intentions based on his behavior and open personality, Sasuke understood humans were multilayered creatures with complicated personalities. Trusting this strangely compelling man was the same as agreeing that Naruto could burn him alive anytime. But when does a merman ever get the chance to participate in fighting? War was forbidden in the ocean since humans that monitored the waters would notice straight away something was off, and a fight between human and merman was still risky.

Curiosity was strong though. The transformation for legs was only a stepping stone, what Naruto was offering, was a door to something completely unknown, and somehow, Sasuke wanted to see where this would go. Watching the same ocean remain the same dark blue with no change had become his life; from what he had read from his books in school, humans lead a life filled with all sorts of good and bad, contradiction and abstract thoughts. Simply colourful scenes with many possibilities.

But it was risk Sasuke was tempted to take the risk, the sense of danger would be refreshing, plus it'd be a jab against Kakashi for dragging him out in the day. "What makes you think I'd want to follow you?" his heart beat fervently against his chest, the sensation of excitement rushed through him in hidden smiles.

"Being a hell raiser as a kid, I can recognize that look, and I can tell you, living on land is the best and the worst thing in the world. You didn't come all the way here for Kakashi."

"Perhaps, but what could you possibly offer me that would deter my other opportunities?"

Almost as if he knew, Naruto only looked at Sasuke. He didn't say a word; just stared with a strange calmness before he continued his path upstairs, leaving Sasuke the choice to follow or remain where he was.

Content with Naruto's decision to leave without further pressure, it gave Sasuke the power to walk away towards Kakashi as it seemed Naruto wasn't inclined to reveal that Kakashi and him were not humans at all. It was suitable this way, but some part of Sasuke felt a pull of disappointment, but he chose to ignore it. The Uchiha clan would never stoop so low to take a offering of any sort from a weak human; even if he was the youngest and was never going to be the heir, no filthy land walker could ever tempt him.

Not even if his eyes were a rare blue that he's never seen before; the hue he'd been trying to find and forget.

Walking into the dining room, Sasuke focused in Kakashi and Iruka converse excitingly as he found his presence being disregarded. This scene was strange. Not that a merman and human being together was a peculiar sight to behold, it was the flicker of life in Kakashi that was perplexing. In the years of training he received from him, Kakashi was never an emotional or affectionate man. At least, not openly. The soft gaze directed to Iruka was too intimidating for anyone to dare interrupt the moment; normally Sasuke didn't care about Kakashi, but he did respect him for his power and achievements. With demure steps, Sasuke retreated back into the hall.

Once again, he found himself staring at the stairs; thoughts carried him to new abstract ideas. Kakashi had more experience in the human world. Where Sasuke struggled to comprehend many things in the human world. Sasuke was proud of his power and knowledge, gratified to be part of the center of a royal clan; but that arrogance blinded him of how little he knew of the world, or he simply refused to acknowledge his lack of experience among humans.

With this revelation, Sasuke refused for his arrogance to get in the way of progress. His parents had left for the Council located somewhere in the Atlantic ocean; Itachi was out handling the problems in their family's land and neighboring clans, being the golden child that he was. Sasuke refused to stay behind his older brother like this. With surreptitious breaths, Sasuke paced himself up the stairs.

It was a strange experience going up stairs as it was his first time actually using his feet up a flight of stairs, but it was another thing he was accomplishing.

When he reached the end, the light escaping the door and the sound of soft notes weaving through the air like the wind, sending streams of numbness around him as the unknown music grew mildly before returning to it's feathery hums. Being in the ocean was always silent with the occasionally echoes of whales, the darkness of the bottom was consistent, he was used to monotone noises and bland colours. When he first saw colour, he found some appealing but most were an eyesore to look at. This was the first time he heard such soft music.

Earlier Kakashi had dragged him to a shopping mall where humans gather to buy things of all sorts, and Sasuke had been forced to listen to blaring, obnoxious singing and beats that were apparently popular; this made him hate human land even more until now. It was surreal to hear beautiful sounds in harmonic layers come from an unexpected place.

Entranced and curious, Sasuke pushed against the wooden door in hopes of getting a better auditory view.

Just like in the pictures of his textbook, there was a grand piano. Sleek and black, classy and sophisticated as it sang a beautiful story of amorous kindness and muted sadness.

Naruto was merely sitting in front, his fingers softly dancing with the music as it played the piano's teeth coloured keys. The light of the room was much brighter than the ones in the hallways, Sasuke could see the soft sprinkle of freckles on his tanned skin that reminded him of a late autumn day. Had Sasuke been somewhere else, he might have thought Naruto was a different person with his lidded eyes and melancholic smile.

Unfortunately, the music ceased and faded like smoke when the door creaked loudly when it reached the wall.

Naruto's eyes broke free of his forlorn moment and caught Sasuke sneaking in "What are you doing here?"

The embarrassed expression Sasuke made was how a child reacted when caught in the middle of a naughty act, unable to defend himself very much, Sasuke fought to keep his tone calm, but it still cam out somewhat quiet "I've never heard piano before. Never thought you of all people could play." Dark eyes noticed the creative fingers slip away from the piano.

With a touch of laughter in his voice, Naruto couldn't bring himself to dislike Sasuke for wanting to hear more of piano music, but he did feel a bit exposed since he never played in front of others with the exception of a few "Guess it is a bit strange for a person like me to play, huh? It sort of balances me out when I need it."

"The music was..." Sasuke had to take a moment to find the appropriate word "...Captivating"

"I'm good aren't I?" The blonde man glowed with warmth as he teased.

Sasuke stared to find some hidden motive, eventually giving an answer when it seemed Naruto truly had no other intentions than to talk "Don't push it, you're the only one I've heard play a piano."

"But you did like my song."

Ebony eyes glanced at the old sheet music propped up at the piano "Adequate enough."

Rolling his eyes in disbelief, Naruto shrugged "Anyway, did you get bored down with the two love birds?"

Not wanting to admit he was nervous to be around Kakashi and Iruka, Sasuke nodded and was welcomed with a gesture to sit beside Naruto. "C'mon over, I can play you something else while we wait."

To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke walked over and compliantly sat beside him "Play."

So he did. This time he played a different song that was a shade more downcasted, but still enchanting for both to listen and share.

Quietly, even the crickets at night stopped their song to listen.

* * *

A/N: My goodness, I had this chapter on the shelf for a while. To my defense, I was occupied with school and I was writing out the plot I have planned for this story. this chapter went a little astray since it ended on a more somber tone than I expected, but I am a sucker for bittersweet stories and multi layered characters. I hope you enjoyed this story, and please do share this, I worry the SasuNaruSasu fandom is dying out, but I love these two dearly as I love classical music. In addition, I must warn you, this story may not be as comedic as I initially started since I want to base this story around the fickleness of human personalities.

The songs Naruto played (in Order): A Glimmer In Her Eyes by Brian Cran, Hallelujah by Brian Cran (His music is amazing, I recommend giving these songs a try)

Thank you for reading!

If it's not too much, please share this.


	3. sorry

Hello, author here!

It's been quite some time, I know. My apologies for taking an extremely long time to give an update. Truly, I am so sorry.

It was unfair of me for not updating or letting you guys know why I have been absent.

I'm afraid my answer is quite clear as it is an unfortunate piece of truth.

While writing and reading are both my passion, a fire can not thrive without straw, wood, something that can feed it. My stories could not grow if it lacked feedback. I gave up on fanfiction because no matter how much I wrote, I received very little feedback and encouragement. I will not write for the people who can not spare a moment to truly recognize and respect the effort it takes to write. My fanfictions were pieces of my heart, and the majority that have READ my pieces did not spare a moment to tell me what they liked, what seemed off, and, what they felt while reading.

All I wanted, was to know was if people enjoyed my story, felt something.

No matter how much a person writes, no matter how much passion a person has, if no one wants to take a moment to acknowledge their effort and ideas, then that person will feel despair and eventually stop.

This is a fact, not a blame game. I do not blame anyone. I will never do that to someone. But I can act on this fact, and I choose to stop writing for this fandom because it's easier for me to do so instead of writing for me to only feel like my efforts are a waste of time.

Instead, I want to say my thanks and apologies.

Thank you so much for reading my stories, just knowing that people read them fills me with joy and content, especially with the person who would write to me and start in-depth discussions, I wish I had replied to you sooner; I still want to keep contact with you even though I was gone for so long but I know the chances of that are unlikely now.

I am truly sorry I left without any notice. That was irresponsible of me. I won't ask for forgiveness. It's too late now, and I don't expect you to do so, or even give me answer. But I do hope my writing provided some moments of entertainment. The conversations I had with you all are precious memories of this fandom, and I want to keep my last moments of this fandom filled with those good times. Currently, I am a very different person now then when I uploaded the last chapter of this story, and I am sure the same thing can be applied to my old readers. Life is sweeping my feet, making it bittersweet and frightening, but so is every life that is born. Soon, I hope to find a new fandom that will provide me with even more inspiration.

Once again, I am so thankful to my readers and friend for sticking by me for this fandom, but I'm afraid this chapter of my life is old and needs to reach a close.

Keep safe and I hope life works in favor for all of you.


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